The present invention relates to a garment bag having a hanger support mounted in the garment bag, the hanger support being generally of the type including a pair of jaws which can be moved between an open position to receive the hooks of garment hangers and a closed position in which the hooks of the garment hangers are clamped between the jaws.
Hanger supports having pivoted clamp jaws and a latching device in a garment bag are disclosed in many prior patent, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,566,456, 4,252,220, 4,363,388, and 5,590,765. U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,888 discloses a garment bag having mounted to the top wall a hanger clamp which comprises a pair of jaws pivotally connected adjacent their rear ends, near the back of the garment bag, the lower jaw being capable of pivoting downwardly so as to move to a release position in which the hooks of hangers may be inserted and withdrawn. The hanger support has an actuating lever which is pivotally connected to the lower clamp jaw, a wire loop being pivotally connected to the actuating lever and engaging, in the closed position of the clamp jaws, an upper surface of the upper clamp jaw. In closed position, the clamp jaws of the hanger support are substantially parallel to each other and to the top wall of the garment bag. The clamp jaws are made of two linearly extending channels in facing relationship, in which are placed resilient rubber blocks having a depth greater than the depth of the channels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,765 discloses a structure similar to that in U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,388, but in addition, includes a latching device which comprises a housing having a front plate which is outwardly of the ends of the clamp jaws, adjacent the front wall of the garment bag, being remote from a pivot pin which pivotally connects the two clamp jaws.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,289 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,113 disclose a garment hanger clamp construction in which a C-shaped frame provides a lower clamp jaw which is horizontal, and has an upper clamp jaw pivotally connected to it for movement between release and clamp positions. The upper jaw is carried by a lever pivoted to the C-shaped frame and is moved by a lever, which in the closed position, lies in front of the clamp jaws. The clamp jaws include pads which are flexible and resilient, and contain transverse holes of substantial size through them. The hanger supports in these patents are intended to clamp and support both wire hangers and plastic hangers due to the above noted construction of the resilient gripping pads.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,058 discloses a similar construction to that shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,798,289 and 4,880,113, but two such garment hanger clamps are provided, one for wire hangers and one for plastic hangers, which have hooks of larger diameter.
In the above patents, it is necessary to provide a relatively large, C-shaped frame which carries a lower resilient pad and to which a jaw member carrying the upper resilient pad is pivoted, thereby being more expensive because of the large number of parts. If such parts are made of plastic material, they are more liable to breaking; were they to be made of metal for strength, the costs would be substantially increased.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,989 discloses a garment bag hanger support in which a frame supports a lower jaw having a pair of laterally spaced soft rubber cushions, above which are a pair of platens which are moved by a cover plate connected to the platens by a bail. The construction disclosed in this patent requires the additional element of a C-shaped mounting frame; it is therefore more expensive. It is made of plastic, and if it were to be made of metal, would be more expensive.